Woman says she lost work hours after reporting sexual harassment

BOSTON — A Boston area Wendy's restaurant is under corporate scrutiny Wednesday amid allegations that a female worker was sexually harassed by a manager, and then punished with no work hours after she reported the abuse.

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The worker alleges it all started when she declined a date invitation from the Wendy's manager. He then sent lewd text messages, which read:

"Unless I see some (expletive) I'm going to try to go to bed... I'm exhausted."

"Patience is a virtue... So when we (expletive)... It's fine...I'm sure you'd just lay there and not do anything."

But the worker did do something. In late July, she asked the store supervisor to put her on opposite shifts from the man she alleged was harassing her. She has not been scheduled since and nobody has contacted her, including Wendy's corporate office, even after getting an online complaint from the worker.

In it, she claims the manager "asked me to wear tight fitting pants ... requested that I bend over to pick up items rather than kneel down.”

The worker filed that complaint Aug. 7, 2017. One week later, it was labeled closed.

Late Tuesday, Wendy's sent a statement about the allegations:

“We have strong policies that prohibit any form of harassment in the workplace and multiple mechanisms available for employees to report concerns if they have them. We are currently investigating this matter and will take appropriate action.”

Cox Media Group